The Thatched Brick Pavilion is a pavilion built as part of the initiative ‘Housing Construction From 4 to 1 Planet – Next Generation Architecture’ by the two Danish foundations Realdania and Villum Fonden. The initiative sets out to explore and develop an architectural practice where we can build with a significantly reduced carbon footprint.
The initiative has culminated during the UIA World Congress of Architects in Copenhagen in July 2023, where three pavilions were built to illustrate the three different concepts. The Thatched Brick Pavilion is a collaboration between RØNNOW LETH & GORI and CINARK – Center for Industrialized Architecture.
The basis for the Thatched Brick project is an investigation of the traditional building materials clay and reeds to develop a new way of building in a more sustainable way. By combining insulating bricks (poroton blocks) and thatched reeds you achieve an extremely robust structure that can be used in a variety of different multi storey housing projects.
The investigation sits on the foundation of the historic Danish building culture and the proud traditions in craftmanship and seeks to further develop a building technique that reaches into the future at a time where we need to be able to build with a heavily reduced carbon footprint.
Thatched Brick is a building system that enables a breathable and mono material construction which lives up to industry standards regarding strength, insulation, fire etc.
The loadbearing construction is made from poroton blocks that in themselves are insulating. On the outside the wall is then lined with prefabricated thatched elements which then adds weather protection and additional insulation to the construction.
Brick as a material is very durable and buildings made from brick can live several hundred years – in that sense brick doesn’t encourage disassembly but continuous use and reuse in the same place. The thatched elements and the rest of the facade, however, has a shorter lifespan than brick and are therefore made easily accessible so they can be maintained, repaired, taken apart and changed as it is needed.
Through the exposed construction system the Thatched Brick silently conveys the lifespan of the materials in way that can be both logically understood and sensually experienced.
Photo: Kim Høltermand
